President Trump is indicating that he is willing to shut down the government over funding for the border wall. The problem is, he didn’t act when he had leverage.
Now, he has no leverage and the Democrats have no incentive to act because the Republicans passed and the president signed all the spending bills except the one for DHS. The Democrats want open borders and the DHS would be an impediment to them. President Trump says he doesn’t believe it is necessary t shut down the government because Democrats will come to their senses. Ah, to dream the impossible dream.
He said Republicans would continue to win elections on the issue of border security if Democrats failed to deliver.
Trump repeatedly floated the idea of a government shutdown over wall funding before the midterm elections, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan urged him to wait until after the election.
McConnell and Republican members of the Senate visited Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss the issue, again urging the president to avoid a shutdown.
Congress has already funded most of the government, but funding for the Department of Homeland Security expires on December 7.
“We had a good discussion about funding the government and the other year-end items, and we’re optimistic we’re going to be able to get that done,” McConnell told reporters after meeting with Trump.
The Republicans and Trump had their chance to get border all funding, but they passed all the domestic spending bills and now Trump only has empty threats in his pocket. The Democrats will be happy if Trump shuts down the government over spending, they don’t want.